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Welcome!  In this time of Coronavirus challenges I want the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas, and questions that I hope are helpful to all of those amazing educators that are doing so much for our students. While I know I may fall short in some ways, I do hope everyone can discover at least one idea that might help their school, parents and students as they take on this new challenge (opportunity) in learning. Please feel free to contact me via email (mjgormans@gmail.com) or Twitter at (@mjgormans). If anything, I have learned from experience and  if I can help you at this time… please feel free to reach out.  I would be happy to join you and your staff in a Web Meeting.  I do hope you read, and please share with others through email and Tweets. It lets me know that I might be making a small difference. – Mike

In this series I would like to take the time to share some e-Learning ideas and pose some questions as schools look at winding down this school year and begin to look at the next year. Some of the ideas I would like to bring out in this series include:

1. Managing devices from school year end to start
   1. Read the article or watch the webinar
2. Data collection for planning (Below)
3. PD for the next level of eLearning in a district
4. Planning Blended Learning for another year
5. Short term and long term goals for Blended Learning

Please look for these topics in upcoming posts. If you have contributions to make or ideas to supply please email me at mjgormans@gmail.com, or send me a tweet at mjgormans . I am trying to build even more ideas to share with everyone! Let’s start with the idea of managing devices from school year end to start. I hope the information is helpful to you!

Coronavirus eLearning Series… Ideas To Think About Now… Before Next Year: Idea 1…Feedback and Surveys

The school year for many in the United States is coming to a close and for most it will end online, or by some type of material and packet distribution. From what I have heard and seen, educators have done a wonderful job of making learning happen for students with the resources and planning time they had to prepare and deliver. I do want to make a point to salute all educators for their amazing efforts. As we have taken this journey together we have also learned so much about extending learning outside of the classroom walls, especially since we could not get in. In fact, some of this learning has the unique opportunity to allow us to make next years’s educational experience even more powerful for our students, no  matter what the structure looks like. In order to be intentional at improving our outcomes for next year it is necessary to inquire, listen and reflect. Now is the time to make this happen! I have included some questions educators might want to answer, get answers to, and reflect upon as they take this next step  As we get close to another year ending we have the perfect opportunity to ask ask and analyze thoughts and ideas from our community of stakeholders.

In the space below, I have tried to provide some questions that you might want to use as you build surveys and questionnaires in the near future. Perhaps you wish to gather a committee together to decide both survey questions, method, and audience. Keep in mind that these example below are here to give you some ideas to start with. I have listed questions that align between groups for three different stakeholder categories including educators, students, and parents. Be prepared for a wide variety of feedback and more importantly, take the time to read and reflect on it. I do hope it helps in your planning for next year.

Educators: ( 1. far below 2. a little below 3. the same 4. a little better 5.  exceeded)

1. As compared to traditional classroom facilitation learning was…
2. Student participation seemed to be…
3. Delivery of actual content standards was…
4. Support for skills collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity was…
5. Summative assessment capabilities seemed…
6. Formative assessment capabilities seemed….
7. Student ownership and self-regulation was…
8. Parent participation was….
9. Relationship building with students was….
10. The opportunity to engage students in higher level Bloom’s activities were…
11. The ability for my students to connect as compared to  my expectations was…
12. My workload as compared to an average workday and evening work was…

Educators: General short answers:

1. What resources seemed to be important?
2. What resources, not available, could have been useful?
3. What are some major feedback ideas you obtained from students and parents?
4. What do you need future PD on?
5. What suggestions do you have for the future?

Students: ( 1. far below 2. a little below 3. the same 4. a little better 5.  exceeded)

1. My experience as compared to traditional classroom learning was…
2. My participation seemed to be…
3. My learning and understanding of content standards was…
4. My use of skills collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity was…
5. My preparation for tests and final large assignments were …
6. My teacher’s ability to inform me as to how I was doing seemed….
7. My ability to have ownership and self-regulation in my learning was…
8. My parents participation in helping me was ….
9. My relationship building with my teachers and other students was….
10. My experiences of finding learning engaging, interesting, and challenging was…
11. My ability to get online and connect to meet class expectations was…
12. My workload as compared to an average workday and home work was…

Students: General short answers:

1. What tools, software, and technology seemed to be important?
2. What tools, software, and technology not available could have been useful?
3. What network did you use to connect from?
   1. Multiple choice: A. Home B. A Place of Work C. Local Wifi Hotspot                      D. Community Building E. Other
4. What primary device did you use to connect from?
   1. Multiple choice: A. No Technology (paper/packet) B. Smart Phone C. School Device  D. Borrowed Device from family member/friend E. Non-smart phone
5. What suggestions do you have for the future?

Parents: ( 1. far below 2. a little below 3. the same 4. a little better 5.  exceeded)

1. My  perception as compared to traditional classroom learning was…
2. My  child’s participation  seemed to be…
3. My child’s learning and understanding of content standards was…
4. My child’s skills of (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity was…
5. My child’s preparation for tests and final large assignments were …
6. My teachers ability to inform  how my child was doing seemed….
7. My  child’s ownership and self-regulation toward learning was…
8. My teacher’s participation in helping me as a parent was ….
9. My child’s relationship building with teacher(s) and other students was….
10. My child’s experience of being engaged, interested, and challenged was…
11. My child’s ability to get online and connect to meet class expectations was…
12. My child’s workload as compared to an average workday and home work was…

Parents: General short answers:

1. What tools, software, and technology seemed to be important?
2. What tools, software, and technology not available could have been useful?
3. What network did your child use to connect from?
   1. Multiple choice: A. Home B. A Place of Work C. Local Wifi Hotspot D. Community Building E. Other
4. What primary device did your child use to connect from?
   1. Multiple choice A. No Technology (paper/packet) B. Smart Phone C. School Device  D. Borrowed Device from family member/friend E. Non-smart phone
5. What suggestions do you have for the future?

Now is the perfect time to gather and reflect on this new experience we have all been a part of.  Every school and district is different so please feel free to be use these survey possibilities as a way to get the conversation started and build questions that align with your situation. As I have previously stated, our schools have done an amazing job navigating these uncharted waters. Schools have reacted in a way that has been beneficial to students. As we continue this journey and finally find sometime to breathe, we must also be proactive in our planning.  This really does start with asking, listening, and reflecting! I do hope these ideas and questions are helpful as you continue to build, facilitate, and improve eLearning for all students.

Think of this new reality, as a pilot, and know that educators, students, and parents will make adjustments on this journey.  Please feel free to contact me via email (mjgormans@gmail.com) or Twitter at (@mjgormans). If anything, I have learned from experience and  if I can help you at this time… please feel free to reach out.  I would be happy to join you and your staff in a Web Meeting.  I do hope you read, and please share with others through email and Tweets. It lets me know that I might be making a small difference.  It is important that we document the process so we can learn and plan from it. Thanks for joining me and please feel free to check with me on questions you might have involving lessons that I have learned. Best of all… remember that spring will be here soon! – Mike